How Katelyn Ewe placed 2 founding engineers in one month on Paraform
From in-house to freelance recruiting
If there’s one recruiter who’s done it all, it’s Katelyn.
She started as an in-house recruiter for Series C and later-stage startups before transitioning to agency recruiting. She then branched out as a freelance recruiter, working closely with candidates to find them multiple “dream job” options.
When looking to build out her business, she turned to Paraform to find more opportunities for her specialized candidate pipeline.
“I worked in-house for three or four years, at startups but I often got frustrated. I’d find amazing candidates that I had connections with, but I wouldn't be able to help them if they didn't get the offer. Sometimes, I wished I could be more of a recruiting partner and propose solutions for aspects of recruiting that I didn't necessarily wholeheartedly agree with.”
The Paraform Advantage
As a freelance recruiter, Katelyn was eager to grow her business but struggled with inconsistent hiring opportunities. She had many highly qualified candidates in her pipeline, but not enough amazing roles to match them to. She signed up to recruit on Paraform hoping to increase her client base.
She soon realized that the number of opportunities, tools, and support available on Paraform enabled her to more quickly scale her recruitment efforts.
Before Paraform:
- Qualified candidates could only be submitted to one client.
- Unable to reuse amazing candidate pipeline if a role got filled.
- No team or support.
- Slower calibration turnaround.
After Paraform:
- Extensive job opportunities; greater number of suitable roles for each candidate.
- Direct access to top pre-seed to Series C startups.
- Support from a dedicated team.
- Tools that enhance her efficiency on an innovative platform that’s always evolving.
Making the most of the platform
Finding success on Paraform involved three important lessons for Katelyn.
Key Learning #1: Recruiters need to prioritize alignment with hiring managers.
"Initially, I struggled because I wasn't providing what hiring managers were looking for. They often requested candidates from specific companies, top-tier schools, or with startup experience. I’d also submit great candidates outside of these criteria who I felt deserved a chance. But I wasn't reaching out to enough candidates, and the responses I received weren't aligning with client expectations. Eventually, I understood I needed to meet clients' preferences 100% and only submit candidates who meet all their criteria, especially since they were backed by top VC firms."
Katelyn watched client intake calls on Paraform to better understand a company and hiring manager’s values. Because hiring managers can proactively share their intake calls on the platform, she was able watch 4x as many calls on Paraform as compared to previously, accelerating her growth as a recruiter.
After immersing herself in the clients’ perspectives, she started to see patterns — for example, a hiring manager might be more flexible on one trait, but uncompromising on another they believe is crucial to success. She also developed an eye for recognizing what specific hiring managers value in their culture.
Key Learning #2: Success stems from focusing on the right metrics.
“I decided to reach out to only top-tier candidates that met or exceeded the hiring manager’s asks.”
Realizing her previous approach prevented her from targeting the best prospects, Katelyn now focuses solely on top-tier candidates. Despite receiving a lower response rate from these high-caliber candidates, her interview and hiring rates increased significantly.
Key Learning #3: Impostor syndrome is real. But it doesn’t have to hold you back.
Anyone can suffer from impostor syndrome, but it’s especially common when you’re working in a space as competitive and fast-paced as recruiting. Katelyn tried to be mindful of this; hyping herself up to increase her confidence helped her stick to her decision to pursue only the strongest candidates for the best opportunities she could find.
“I know I’m a good enough recruiter even though I might not have certain qualifications. I am presenting an offer, an experience, or a role at a company that is worthy of these top-quality candidates. Just realizing that I was worthy of going after these candidates and pursuing these opportunities was a big shift for me.”
How Katelyn achieved 2 critical placements within 1 month
Katelyn’s choice to double down on a specific niche helped her stand out from other recruiters on Paraform. Taking advantage of her previous in-house experience at startups, she focused on recruiting founding engineers in San Francisco and worked hard to develop specific expertise.
She created a personalized checklist to improve efficiency and adjusted her approach based on candidate responses. For example, Katelyn identified the value of candidates with an entrepreneurial spirit, making that trait a key factor in her recruitment process.
“For founding engineer roles, I look for candidates who have started a company or project, even if it was in college or years ago, as this often indicates an entrepreneurial spirit. While not every company values this experience, some do, especially those that appreciate diverse backgrounds.”
This careful, targeted strategy helped her build a strong reputation on Paraform; she established herself as an expert in her niche among existing and new clients.
“The biggest breakthrough was building a reputation on Paraform, which led clients to invite me to work on their roles. The Paraform team also reached out to me to suggest roles where I could be a great fit.”
Harnessing Paraform's tools for success
Katelyn continues to leverage Paraform’s newer features, such as the ContactOut integration, to increase candidate response rate and personalize her recruiting process. She finds that Paraform’s features supplement her own processes, working well together with her existing tools. The integration, available on Paraform’s Chrome extension, lets recruiters find candidates' email addresses and reach out to them personally without paying for expensive sourcing tools.
With Paraform, Katelyn has exceeded her recruitment goals, transforming her freelance career. Her journey proves that the right tools and mindset can make dreams a reality — not just for herself, but also for all her candidates.
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